RADA launches ambitious school garden project in Trelawny
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE RURAL Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) has launched an ambitious ‘school garden programme’, which will see seven schools from Trelawny participating in a special agricultural project designed to promote self-reliance in relation to the planting of food crops. Courtney Taylor, the RADA parish manager for Trelawny, said the projects, which will impact Muschett, Troy and Albert Town high schools, as well as Albert Town, Troy, Hastings, WaitA-Bit primary schools, will see the institutions producing short-term crops.
“The intention of the programme is to positively influence what the children get from their school canteens. The crops to be planted are those which do not need a very long time to mature,” explained Taylor. Taylor said RADA would be working closely with 4-H clubs in the various schools and across the parish to ensure the success of the initiative, which will be spearheaded by Natanish Hines, the 4-H parish manager for Trelawny.
“The programme’s involvement with 4-H gives it a head start as the 4-H is already established in the schools and there are leaders who have volunteered to expand 4-H work,” Hines noted, explaining the 4H’s involvement.
“The intention going forward is to involve the parent-teacher associations in the various schools to create a broader base,” added Hines.
LONG-TERM PLAN
While the programme is currently only involved in school gardening, Taylor said the long-term plan is to expand into other areas of agriculture, to include poultry rearing.
“The hope is that a poultry unit will be established in each school. This will help the protein offerings of each school,” said Taylor, who sees the initiative as part of the national drive to have the school gardens evolve into a training site for future farmers.
Trelawny, which is one of the country’s premier farm food-producing areas, has more than 9,000 farmers registered to RADA.
“This is a fantastic initiative and RADA should be commended for it,” said veteran Trelawny farmer Victor Watson. “Most of the farmers in this parish are the older folks like myself, so I am delighted that they are creating a platform to produce farmers for the future. This project has my full endorsement.”